Method and apparatus for producing braided baked products

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for producing a braided baked product from dough by feeding the dough through a die head having at least three relatively-moving die members each formed with an orifice feeding a strip of the dough, moving the die members relative to each other during the feeding of the dough to cause the strips to interweave, and baking the interwoven strips to produce the braided baked product.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producingbraided baked products. The invention is particularly useful for makingchallahs or rolls, and is therefore described below with respect to thisapplication.

Challah is a loaf of yeast-leavened bread, usually braided, andtradionally eaten by Jews on the Sabbath, holidays and ceremonialoccasions. At the present time, braiding the dough is generally donemanually, either by shaping a strip of the dough into the digit "8", orby interweaving a plurality of strips, usually four, of the dough into abraid. Manually forming the braids when making challahs, rolls or otherbraided baked products, is not only a relatively slow, tedious andcostly process, but is also a non-hygienic process because of the humancontact with the dough. While attempts have been made to mechanize theproduction of challah and other braided baked products, insofar as I amaware none of the proposed mechanisation techniques has been found to besatisfactory, and therefore to this day challahs and other braided bakedproducts are generally still produced manually.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and also anapparatus for producing braided baked products, such as challahs androlls.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided amethod of producing a braided baked product from dough, comprising:feeding the dough through a die head having at least threerelatively-movable die members each formed with an orifice feeding astrip of the dough; moving the die members relative to each other duringthe feeding of the dough to cause the strips to interweave; and bakingthe interwoven strips to produce the braided baked product.

According to further features in the described preferred embodiment, thedie members are plates of the same external shape and are movablerelative to each other by at least two rotatable drive members. Each diemember is formed on its outer circumference with at least two cavitiesof a shape complementary to that of the die plates for receiving andmoving the die plates during the rotation of the drive member. The drivemembers are in the form of equal-diameter discs having parallel axes ofrotation spaced from each other a distance such that each die plate isreceivable in either cavity of each drive disc so as to be moved by therotation of the drive disc.

The invention also provides apparatus for producing braided bakedproducts in accordance with the above method.

As will be described more particularly below, the method and apparatusof the present invention enable braided baked products, such as challahsor rolls, to be produced in a mechanized continuous manner eliminating,or minimizing, human contact with the dough such that the production ofthe braided baked product enables a substantially savings to be made inlabor and also provides better hygienic conditions.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe description below.

The invention is herein described, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 diagrammatically illustrates one form of apparatus constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 diagrammatically illustrates the extruder head in the extrusionapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 diagrammatically illustrates various stages in the movement ofthe die members in the extrusion head of FIG. 2 for producing a braidedbaked product;

FIG. 4 illustrates another form of drive for driving the die members inthe extrusion apparatus of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 illustrates another form of screw feeder that may be used in theextrusion apparatus of FIG. 1.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings is an extrusion apparatusparticularly useful for producing braided baked products, such aschallahs or rolls, in a continuous mechanized fashion. The apparatusincludes an extruder, generally designated 2, having a hopper 3 forreceiving the dough to be used in making the baked product, and a screwfeeder 4 for feeding the dough via a dough chamber 5 through an extruderhead 6. As will be described more particularly below with respect to toFIGS. 2 and 3, extruder head 6 includes at least three (four in theexample illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3) die members each formed with anorifice producing an extruded strip of the dough. Such die members aremoved relative to each other during the extrusion of the dough to causethe extruded strips to interweave or braid.

The apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 further includes a closed-loopconveyor belt 7 located to receive the braided strips from the extrusionhead 6, and a cutter 8 which cuts the continuous braided strips intoseparate units defining individual challahs or rolls. The apparatusfurther includes a drive 9 for driving the screw feeder 4, another drive10 for driving the drive members in the extrusion head 6, and a furtherdrive 11 for driving the conveyor belt 7. All the foregoing drives, andthe cutter 8, may be controlled by a common control unit, schematicallyindicated by box 12 as will be described more particularly below.Conveyor belt 7 conveys the cut braided pieces of dough through an oven13 which bakes them to produce the braided baked products, such aschallahs or rolls.

FIG. 2 more particularly illustrates the construction of the extruderhead 6. It includes a plurality of die members or plates 21-24 all ofthe same external configuration and each formed with a central orifice21a-24a of the same diameter. Each orifice 21a-24a thus produces asingle strip of the dough extruded by the extruder.

The four die plates 21-24 are moved by three drive members 31-33 in theform of equal diameter discs having parallel axes of rotation 31a-33a.Each drive disc 31-33 is formed on opposite sides of its outercircumference with two cavities, as shown at 31b, 31c of drive disc 31,of a shape complementary to the outer shape of the die plates 21-24. Theaxes of rotation 31a-33a of the drive discs 31-33 are spaced from eachother such that each die plate 21-24 is receivable in either cavity ofeach drive disc during the rotation of the drive discs.

FIG. 3 illustrates the manner in which the four extruded dough strips,emerging from orifices 21a-24a of the die plates 21-24, are interwovenor braided by the rotation of the three drive discs 31-33. Thus,assuming the die plates 21-24 are initially in alignment as shown instage (a) of FIG. 3, the two outer drive discs 31-33 are first rotatedin the same direction, while the middle drive disc 32 is not rotated, tothereby reverse the position of die plate 21 with respect to die plate22, and die plate 24 with respect to die plate 23, as shown by stages(a)-(e) in FIG. 3. Then, the middle drive disc 32 is rotated in theopposite direction, while the two outer drive discs 31, 33 are retainedstationary, to thereby reverse the positions of die plates 21, 24, asshown in stages (f)-(i) in FIG. 3.

Each drive disc 31-33 may be rotated by a separate motor in the discdrive schematically illustrated at 10 in FIG. 1 under the control of thecontrol circuit 12. FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative arrangementwherein the drive system includes one worm gear 41 for driving the twoend drive discs 31, 33, and a second worm gear 42 for driving the middledrive disc 32.

FIG. 5 illustrates a variation wherein the screw feeder is in the formof a helical rod 45, slightly spaced from a central fixed stem 46, androtated by its motor 9 (FIG. 1) for feeding the dough from the hopper 3,via the dough chamber 5, through the orifices in the extrusion head 6.

Where the illustrated apparatus is used for making challahs or rolls,the cutters 8 would normally be shaped and controlled so as to cut andshape the ends according to the desired shape of the baked product.

While the invention has been described with respect to producing braidedbaked products, such as challahs or rolls, it will be appreciated thatthe invention could be used in many other applications. The extrusionhead could include another form of head having any desired number of dieplates according to the number of strips to be fed and braided. Thedrive discs could be arrayed with their axes of rotation not onlyaccording to a linear array as illustrated in the drawings, but alsoaccording to a rectangular array or a circular array, in a single lineor in a plurality of lines. In addition, the orifices in the disc platescould be of polygonal or other non-circular cross-sections.

Many other variations, modifications and applications of the inventionwill be apparent.

I claim:
 1. A method of producing a braided baked product from dough,comprising:feeding the dough through a die head having at least threerelatively-moving die members each formed with an orifice feeding astrip of the dough; moving said die members relative to each otherduring the feeding of the dough to cause said strips to interweave; andbaking said interwoven strips to produce said braided baked product. 2.The method according to claim 1, wherein said die members are plates ofthe same external shape, and are movable relative to each other by atleast two rotatable drive members each formed on its outer circumferencewith at least two cavities of a shape complementary to that of the dieplates for receiving and moving the die plates during the rotation ofthe drive member.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said drivemembers are in the form of equal-diameter discs having parallel axes ofrotation spaced from each other a distance such that each die plate isreceivable in either cavity of each drive disc so as to be moved by therotation thereof.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein there areat least four of said die plates moved by at least three of said drivediscs.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said interwovenstrips are fed onto a conveyor, are cut into individual units, and arethen conveyed through a baking oven.
 6. Apparatus for producing abraided baked product from dough, comprising:a feeder having a die headincluding at least three relatively-movable die members each formed withan orifice for feeding a strip of the dough; a drive for moving said diemembers relative to each other during the feeding of the dough to causethe strips to interweave; and an oven for baking said interwoven stripsthereby to produce said braided baked product.
 7. The apparatusaccording to claim 6, wherein said die members are plates of the sameexternal shape, and are movable relative to each other by at least tworotatable drive members each formed on its outer circumference with atleast two cavities of a shape complementary to that of the die platesfor receiving and moving the die plates during the rotation of the drivemember.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said drivemembers are in the form of equal-diameter discs having parallel axes ofrotation spaced from each other a distance such that each die plate isreceivable in either cavity of each drive disc so as to be moved by therotation thereof.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein thereare at least four of said die plates moved by at least three of saiddrive discs.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 6, further including amoving belt for receiving said interwoven strips, and a cutter forcutting the interwoven strips into individual units before they areconveyed through said oven.
 11. The method according to claim 1, whereinsaid feeding of the dough through a die head is effected by extrudingthe dough through an extruder die head.
 12. The apparatus according toclaim 6, wherein said feeder having a die head is en extruder having anextruder die head.